Yoo Eun-hye: "Confirmed Students Can Take Final Exams When Isolation Requirement Is Lifted"

Isolation Requirement Lifted to Allow COVID-Positive Students to Take Final Exams
Discussions on Revising School Quarantine Guidelines After May
"Scope of Educational Activities Varies According to Mask-Wearing Standards"

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye announced on the 14th, "If the mandatory isolation requirement for confirmed COVID-19 cases is lifted, we will provide confirmed students with the opportunity to take exams starting from the first semester final exams."

On the same day, during a video conference with Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jung Eun-kyung at the Seoul Government Complex, Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, "The issue of granting confirmed cases the opportunity to take midterm exams fundamentally concerns the fairness and equity of students' academic records, so it must be judged very carefully."

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo emphasized that allowing confirmed students to take midterm exams is directly related to fairness issues.

She stated, "If only midterm exam attendance is allowed during the first semester without any changes to the current quarantine guidelines, fairness issues will newly arise with second- and third-year high school students who have already received recognized scores over the past two years."

Earlier, the Presidential Transition Committee expressed regret over the Ministry of Education's policy to restrict exam attendance, but the Ministry of Education maintains its position of not granting exam opportunities to confirmed students and instead giving recognized scores.

On the same day, the Ministry of Education discussed ways to improve school quarantine guidelines in relation to the quarantine authorities' 'post-Omicron' system and social distancing relaxation policies.

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, "We are specifically preparing revised school quarantine guidelines to be applied after May," adding, "The revisions should reflect changes related to the adjustment of infectious disease levels currently being discussed mainly by quarantine authorities."

The Ministry of Education is reviewing plans to resume full in-person attendance at schools nationwide, as well as school experiential activities such as school trips.

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, "Whether to lift the mandatory isolation for confirmed cases will affect the criteria for school attendance and whether confirmed students can take internal exams, and the scope and extent of school educational activities will vary depending on indoor and outdoor mask-wearing standards."

She also emphasized, "Since linking quarantine standards with academic affairs will have a more direct and significant impact on our students, the government needs to make careful judgments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.